Category: z-News

This morning we were heartbroken to learn that one of our alumni, pianist Emily Stearns, lost her battle with acute leukemia. Emily touched all of us at From the Top with her passion, humor, quirkiness, and amazing musical talent. A native of Butte, Montana and a recipient of From the Top’s Jack Kent Cooke Young […]

The Menuhin Competition was held last week in Oslo, Norway and as usual From the Top alumni came out on top!  The Menuhin is an international competition open to violinists of all nationalities under the age of 22 and is one of the most prestigious music competitions in the world. In 2008 (the competition is […]

We are pleased to announce the first recipients of the Margaret Stewart Lindsay Arts Leadership Awards, a new program that encourages high school and collegiate musicians to give back to their communities through the arts. Through this program, From the Top will provide grants and mentoring for three community projects this year. A shared grant […]

From the Top’s broadcast this week was taped at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California on January 27, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they played on the show: Jonathan Miron, 17, violin “The Foundation of Arethusa” from Myths, Three Poems for Violin & Piano by Karol Szymanowski “When […]

Congratulations to 17-year-old pianist Jingxuan Zhang, who held a solo benefit recital on March 27th to raise money for the Performing Arts Department at his high school in Indiana, which has been hit by recent budget cuts. Around 450 people attended the 50-minute concert, which raised $2,330. Jingxuan, a Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist, is […]

Pianist Hilda Huang placed third in the Seventh International Würzburg J. S. Bach Competition (first and second prizes were not awarded). She played the “Goldberg” Variations in the final round of the contest, held in Bavaria, Germany in March. The competition is open to all musicians under age 36, but Hilda is just 14, and […]

15-year-old pianist Sahun “Sam” Hong, who appeared on From the Top last fall, won First Prize in the Lennox International Young Artists Competition on January 9th, playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 3. Sam performed the concerto with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra on March 13th. Sam has also been busy with community outreach concerts. He performed […]

Violinist Dayna Anderson, who will graduate from the Curtis Institute of Music in May, recently became the concertmaster of the Delaware Symphony. At 22, she is the youngest person to hold the position in the orchestra’s 104-year history. Dayna appeared on From the Top in 2000 at the age of 12. Congrats Dayna! Three From […]

Hi everyone! I’m just winding down from a wonderful show we taped in Portland, Maine tonight in the beautiful Merrill Auditorium with Portland Ovations. The whole show was fantastic, but I wanted to share some of my favorite highlights with you. 17-year-old pianist Wil Bristol played a piece that called for him to use his […]

Pianist Patricio Molina, who was featured on From the Top’s TV show and is a recipient of our Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, will perform in a series of concerts to raise money for the victims of the earthquake in Chile. A native of Chile, Patricio moved to the United States in 2004 to […]

A nice article in Cleveland’s Plain Dealer about From the Top alum cellist Matthew Allen and his past life as a football player. http://www.cleveland.com/musicdance/index.ssf/2010/02/leaving_football_behind_cellis.html Matthew also appears on the CD From the Top at the Pops recorded with the Cincinnati Pops last year.

On this week’s broadcast of From the Top, we honor Honolulu piano teaching legend Ellen Masaki and Honokaa High School Jazz Band (Hawaii) Director Gary Washburn. Tell us about a music teacher that has made a difference in your life. We’ll feature some of our favorite entries  right here on our Green Room blog. Send […]

From the Top has named Jeffrey F. Rayport, Operating Partner at Castanea Partners in Boston, as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Rayport has been a member of From the Top’s board since its inception in 2003 and replaces its Founding Chairman Francis O. Hunnewell who passed in late January. “We feel very fortunate to […]

This week’s show was taped at the Kahilu Theatre in Waimea, Hawaii on Wednesday January 20, 2010. We asked our performers to tell us about the music they performed on the show: Daniel Tekunoff, 17, Guitar I. Allegretto from Sonatina by Lennox Berkeley The “Allegro” is a great piece of music that reminds me of […]

American Public Media’s Performance Today has partnered with the world-renowned Parker Quartet (featuring several From the Top alums) to offer an exciting national competition opportunity for young aspiring classical string quartets. Performance Today will award the winning quartet a Master Class with the Parker Quartet in APM’s state-of-the-art Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Music Studio in St. […]

As a high school student in South Bend, Indiana, LaMont Barlow had to make a difficult decision. Would he follow his passion for classical music down a path that would lead to conservatory studies and a career in music? Or would he pursue his interest in science at a liberal arts college and ultimately become […]

Hi all! This weekend we taped Show 213 in Burlington, Vermont at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, a beautifully restored vaudeville house right in the center of town. I was so excited for the taping because one of my favorite performers was invited back as a 10th Anniversary guest – soprano Nadine Sierra, who was […]

Seattle-based blogger Janet Peltz has done a two installment feature on From the Top alum (radio #165, TV #206 ) Simone Porter and her mother Deborah. Janet has done a nice job of capturing the intense, and sometimes challenging, commitment the two have made to pursue Simone’s passion in music. Here are the two links: […]

Following our taping at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara on January 27, we gathered all the performers for our arts leadership workshop and asked them to reflect on the power of music. Here are some of the stories they shared both from their own personal experiences and from history: “When Renee Fleming sang in […]

On every broadcast, Christopher O’Riley performs a piece during the station break. Our live audiences are treated to the full performance, though on the broadcast only a portion of the performance is heard. Among the break pieces Chris is performing this season is the world premiere of “Falling Canons” by Grammy Award winner Kenneth Fuchs. […]